Boise City Wire

BOISE, Idaho – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently released a report entitled "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: A Review of U.S.-Europe Cooperation on China," which critiques the Biden-Harris Administration's handling of challenges posed by China. This document follows a similar report issued by Risch in 2020.

“In the fall of 2020, I laid out a clear plan for the Biden-Harris Administration to work with European allies and partners to confront the challenges posed by China. Nearly four years later, the administration has made virtually no progress,” said Risch. “If we are to succeed in our competition with China, the next administration must do more than the Biden-Harris Administration has. Republicans have solutions. It’s time to act.”

Key points from the report include:

- The Biden-Harris Administration's inaction has allowed China to exploit U.S. academic research and foreign lobbying laws.

- Little has been done to address vulnerabilities created by inadequate scrutiny of foreign funding to universities and think tanks.

- Addressing global democratic backsliding is necessary to minimize China's corrupt influence.

- The administration's cooperation with China on climate change benefits Chinese industry at the expense of U.S. manufacturing while pursuing policies detrimental to the U.S. energy sector.

- Foreign policy initiatives like AUKUS have seen few deliverables since their announcement three years ago.

- Despite detailing an Africa strategy, inconsistent policies have left Africa vulnerable to violence and manipulation by Russia and China.

Washington Reporter noted: “‘The Biden-Harris Administration has made grand announcements but repeatedly failed to implement them,’” adding that counterproductive policies weaken U.S. competitiveness against China.

New York Post reported: “The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee slapped the Biden-Harris administration with a letter grade of ‘D’ on Monday for its poor cooperation with European allies and partners on countering China.”

Politico China Watcher highlighted criticisms regarding insufficient efforts to curb Chinese influence in political lobbying and lack of a comprehensive Africa strategy.

Politico National Security Daily summarized: “Senate Foreign Relations’ top Republican Jim Risch (R-Idaho) blasted the Biden administration’s China policy today in a lengthy report.”

Full text of the report can be found here.